Cutting front springs How much to cut

[EhCaminoDave]

Planning on lowering my 1979 elcamino in the next few weeks... Honestly it's the budget Camino so I'm cutting the front and putting lowering springs in the front ... Wondering how low can I go on the front ...the wheels on it are 15"x7" 205/60 ...I would like to low as possible without major changes I don't mind if I have to smash a few things to make it work lol...Would love to get some tips on this as I know it's a pain in the *ss to remove springs

Also trying to source ss front spoiler what would be a good site to order these from?

 

[Drkuhar]

Every 1/2 cut off equal to a 1"drop.

Set them on a bench (closed end down) and with a tape measure up to top. Coils have closed end that goes in the frame and an open end that rest on the lower control arm. Cut off the open end. Rotate the coil next to the tape measure and mark it at the drop you want. Example if spring is 15" turn coil to 14 1/2 and mark there. That cut will give a 1" drop.

Old springs may not be wore evenly, one side may sag a bit more than the other so with old springs it is a guessing game somewhat

Original springs a soft so that has to be taken into account.

I ordered stiffer springs then trimmed down give it a more sport car feel rather than soft feel. And both springs were new with no sag to account for

 

[bracketchev1221]

Hard to say exactly depending on spring. But generally 1/2 coil a cut is safe but it’s trial and error.

 

[jcelk]

i did that to a 82 elky 3.8 cut 1 coil off the bottom that lowered it more than i wanted try 1/2 coil

 

[EhCaminoDave]

i did that to a 82 elky 3.8 cut 1 coil off the bottom that lowered it more than i wanted try 1/2 coil

How much do you think it's dropped...I'm aiming for about 2.5" or 3"

 

[Bonnewagon]

I suggest cutting no more than 1/4 of a coil at a time. There is no magic formula of 'cut this for that much drop'. Every spring and every car is different. I used new 1977 Trans Am springs in my '81 Malibu wagon. It had a Pontiac 400 so a big heavy motor. The second gen Firebird overall spring height is about 1" taller than our cars to begin with. I made 3 cuts of 1/4 at a time for 3/4 of a coil total, That changed it from pointing to the tree tops, to a perfect 1" over stock height. Sure it's a LOT of work. But you can always take more off. You can't put it back on.

 

[403Olds]

205/60 is already shorter than stock, so you won't have to go much further. cutting the stock springs will result in a lower ride, but probably on the bump stops many times. a better option would be a set of the Moog IROC springs and start cutting.

 

[Ernest]

Continuing with what Drkuhar had posted with a video example...

 

[Drkuhar]

Continuing with what Drkuhar had posted with a video example...

This video is the guide I used doing mine. I couldn't get a link to post